Breath of Fate
by Matron of Madness
Summary: The loveliest of flowers is often the one you are oblivious to at first; even as they take their place to stand by your side in destiny. /-A series of oneshots between different MC/? pairings. Shall We Date: Ninja Love.
1. Munenori: Claimed

_I don't own Shall We Date: Ninja Love or its characters!_

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–

To say that the ninja princess was a difficult woman would be quite the understatement. While she was efficient in wearing her title, and very inspiring when she put it to use, she wasn't exactly what one would call bright. Perhaps not in the area of intellect, though often one could wonder, but instead, when it came to her own personal matters. She had a bad habit of shoving things aside until they became too big for her to handle alone, and even then, she hardly ever told anyone what was bothering her until it was pried out of her.

Now was no exception to that, unfortunately. Munenori had been watching his soon-to-be wife intently, whenever his duty gave him down time. He would see her with Matsu most of the time, constantly 'training' in the ways to be a well-rounded lady, which, despite being female, she seemed to be utterly hopeless at. Whereas she usually would shine with determination, no matter how utterly impossible a task may seem, her cheerfulness had began to dwindle the last few days. At first he had inquired if she was feeling okay, inwardly worried she had become ill. She had managed to catch developmental fever a few times after all, though he still huffed at the implication Rennoshin had been calling her childish.

He had all but forced her to have herself checked out, just to be sure, but when results came back that she was fine, he only found himself perplexed. Outwardly, he was as calm as ever, making sure to wrap his glances at her in the illusion of observance for her progress as opposed to her health. He wasn't one to fret over even his own possessions, because naturally the things he owned were never harmed.

However, he had not ever once had a possession in which he did not control directly.

This woman plagued his mind, as he stubbornly watched her working with Matsu, taking in the woman's every word even though her confidence had taken dips every now and again. Her determination was still present, but her body language still indicating the problem was as well, whatever it may be. Her shoulders drooped and her eyes didn't sparkle nearly as much as they usually would. When she answered one of her current instructor's questions, her voice shook. Not enough for anyone to notice, however. Only enough for him to notice, because she belonged to him, and he had burned into memory the sound of her voice.

The closer he analyzed her, the less ill she really did seem. It was no kind of physical sickness, that had been proven. Was she unhappy? The thought caused the Yagyu to bite onto the end of his pipe as he inhaled on it, his gaze narrowing. The princess turned her head at that moment and locked gazes with him, unsurprised by his scrutiny. She had seen him watching on different occasions. Something lit up in her eyes just then, and she turned back to Matsu, continuing her lesson as if nothing was wrong at all.

Her shoulders had lifted, and he realized what he had just seen was the spark returning to her eyes. Somehow, that did not bring him comfort. What kind of front was she putting on? He had watched her enough times, even before she had been brought back to the Yagyu estate, to know when something troubled her.

It was with regret that he turned away from the scene, his presence called upon by another; and as he walked away, he saw her shoulders fall once more.

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–

He could only let it go on so long before he said something, and she knew it too, even if she acted perfectly normal in his presence. He gave it time, likening himself to believe that it was merely a passing bout of sadness. Perhaps she was just feeling the pressure of Matsu's training, or maybe her insecurities were getting the better of her again. In which case, those would probably come pouring out on their own, as they usually did.

That began to show itself untrue as days passed and no progress was made on this matter. Of course, he had his own business to keep his mind off it, and she had her own duties to attend to whilst being melded into the perfect wife for him. Still, it nagged at him. He didn't show it, only remained as cool and distant as usual, aside from the few moments they captured alone, which he dared not waste with words.

However, that time had been used wisely for the night, and he found himself in a prolonged moment with her, as neither of them had fallen asleep yet, despite their activities.

"Munenori?" She spoke beside him, curled up with a cover to her chin. She held onto it as if it were her lifeline, and he couldn't help but admit it was adorable how ridiculously self-conscious she was of her body; even now that he'd seen it a good many times.

"Hmm?" He played with the pipe in his hand as he stared down at her, occasionally moving his hand over to the side so none of the ash incidentally fell on his chest. She shifted, prompting him to lean down and brush a few strands of hair from her face. He saw immediately that the spark was missing from her eyes again. He frowned.

"Um . . . no, never mind." She seemed thoughtful for a moment, then dropped it. Again, there it was. The reluctance to tell him about her problems. He truly had difficulty understanding this, as she'd been so vocal about everything else; her feelings, most notably. He puffed on his pipe for a while, taking in the darkness of the room.

"Are you unhappy here?" When he spoke, his voice was level and calm, but he figured she would be able to identify the slight hint of worry in it. Only she could. The question caught her off guard, judging by the slight noise of confusion that came from her throat. The silence hung in the air for a moment before she answered.

"Of course not! I mean, it's a little difficult at times, but..." The princess slowly shifted so that she was sitting up next to him. She still held the cover up, of course, though he found his eyes trained on her face more than anything. Her brow crinkled a bit, as it usually did when she was thinking. He remained silent for her to continue. "It's a lot of pressure, trying to make myself worthy in everyone's eyes. I'm not unhappy, though! I'll prove them right to believe in me, somehow." She nodded matter-of-factly. They'd already had that discussion once, and she'd indeed said she wouldn't give up on becoming the perfect woman for him.

Part of him was slightly amused she didn't realize she already was.

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden . . . Munenori?"

It was his turn to remain quiet for a moment, before he answered her calmly. "You've been sulking around for days. Usually you're annoyingly bright and cheerful... you seem almost deflated as of late. If you are not unhappy, then what is it?"

Realization seemed to dawn on her face, then immediately after, embarrassment. "O-oh. You thought... It's not exactly that I've been sad, you see. It's just . . . um." She scooted away from him a bit, staring down at her index fingers as she slowly pushed the tips together repeatedly. He had seen that action enough times to know she figured the answer to his inquiry would sound stupid to him. Which, in turn, made him listen all the more intently, for he felt some part of him hoping that it was the case – that it was anything other than what he'd been thinking the past few days.

"It's just...?" he prompted, a bit impatiently.

She groaned, clutching at the blanket once more. "It's just that I got a letter from grandpa the other day, talking about how everything is going back home, and I guess you could say I've been a little . . . homesick." She remained quiet after she spoke, allowing him a moment to let that linger. He seemed frozen in place for a moment, before he let out a frustrated sigh.

"...Homesick?" Munenori pressed his palm against his face, shaking his head slowly. "That's _all_? If that's the problem, you should just tell me so that we can arrange a visit back to your village at some point." He dropped his hand back to his side, playing with his pipe with his other. "To think I've been worried about you for these past few days..."

She blinked at him owlishly, surprised by his words. "_You_ were worried? To think I'd ever hear you say that aloud..."

"Hmph, you've still got that lip on you, I see." He narrowed his eyes in response, and automatically knew that his cheeks had flushed significantly at her inquiry. "I've told you before, haven't I? You're one of my possessions, and I take it seriously when one of them happens to be in a worn state." Despite his harsh, scolding tone, she was beaming at him as if she'd just accomplished something wonderful, much like the time she'd learned of his panic when he took her ill, fainted self to Rennoshin.

"I'm sorry... I didn't intend to make you worry! I just didn't think it was that big of a deal." He sighed heavily at this, reaching over and setting his pipe a safe distance away from him.

"You see? _That_ is the problem with you. You think these things are such a little deal, and as well they might be at times, you don't seem to understand that in your position, I should be the first to know when something is bothering you." Though the look on her face told him this wouldn't be the last time it happened, and his breath would be wasted once again. It annoyed and infuriated him, but at the same time, he couldn't help finding the emotions she put him through rather . . . interesting.

One look from her could change his mood in an instant. If she seemed sad, he was immediately worried, even if he'd never admit it without a push. When she was scared, he found himself ready to destroy whatever may have caused her to tremble. One smile and he would find more happiness in the silly country girl than he ever could have imagined before she fell straight into his life.

He had found himself to rather prefer the type of woman that was strong-willed and utterly frustrating; and there was no better candidate for both those attributes than the girl sitting beside him, staring at him with a renewed sparkle in her eyes.

"It really wasn't that big of a problem, though." There she went, completely disregarding his words entirely. He was unsurprised in the least. "I mean, I would miss home when I started thinking about it here and there, and it would be nice to visit every once in a while, but . . . I felt better almost immediately, a lot of the time." She looked down at the sheet once more, biting the bottom of her lip lightly. "Because, whenever I started to feel down, somehow, I would find you standing off to the side. Then, I would remember that this is where Munenori is. And wherever you are . . . is my home. So there was no reason to feel sad."

He stared at her, watching as she began fidgeting shyly, adding pulling gently on her hair to her list of nervous ticks. Without a moment's hesitation, he reached over and grabbed both her wrists, knocking her onto her back. "Ahh!" she squeaked as she fell over, looking up to see the man hovering over her with a gentle smile on his face.

It would be a rare sight for anyone else, but not for her. He enjoyed seeing the blush on her cheeks grow darker as a result of his expression. "So that's the case? You've managed to learn where your place is..." She puffed up her cheeks at his words, to which he only chuckled at. However, his features soon relaxed into a serious expression. Releasing her wrists, he spread out her palms and pressed theirs together, linking his fingers with his, to which her own fingers curled naturally to form a perfect fit.

"Munenori?" The curious look returned to her face, the sparkle in her eyes having been reduced to something more expressive and shy. She already belonged to him, this stubborn, self-conscious, beautiful woman. However, in a few days, with one simple ceremony, it would be known by all just who possessed her.

"Your mind can wander wherever it pleases. I sure seem to not have the ability to get anything into that head of yours, anyways." She huffed at his words, but he smiled nonetheless. "Just so long as you manage to keep it coming back home to me."

There it went; her blush spread to the tips of her ears. He squeezed her hands gently, lowering himself so that the only thing between them was the sheet she'd been clutching moments before. Close enough to feel her heartbeat in her chest, close enough to feel her breath on his lips, he chuckled at her innocent embarrassment.

"I love you, you stubborn woman." Before she could retort something back at him, he closed the distance between them and captured her lips with his own.

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**I don't know what this is. Boredom, I guess. :P**

**This isn't going to be a story or anything; it'll be more like a series of completely unrelated, fluffy oneshots between the MC and whatever person I feel like typing about. So, yes, all the pairings will be written about at one point or another, some more than once. They will all include the MC, who I will leave nameless in all of them since you can choose her name in the game.**

**I'm considering doing an actual chapter-driven story with one of the other games, probably My Sweet Prince if I do, but I haven't decided yet. Just thought I'd only do oneshots for this one in particular since the Ninja Love game itself already has a main story and epilogues. And I have other stories to finish. OTL.**

**Anyways, fanfiction, Y U NO HAVE MORE SHALL WE DATE STORIES? I'm honestly surprised more hasn't been written for it, ha.**

**Constructive criticism is always welcome. I tried my best to keep everyone in character, but I'm always paranoid when it comes to things like that. Hopefully I didn't butcher Munenori in this one. D:**

**Nonetheless! Thanks for reading! Reviews make me update faster and put me in a happy mood. :)**

– **Matron of Madness.**

**P.S. This chapter has a lot of references to Munenori's "Mission Adorable 2" in the side stories; if you happen to not understand some of the events specifically referenced, that would be because you haven't played it yet!**


	2. Saizo: Momento

Saizo, in spite of his nature, would argue that the Ninja Princess was many things; she was brave when she needed to be, determined about anything she set her mind to, stubborn when it came to hers and others' personal feelings, and very inspiring as a person in general. However, there were areas in her list of talents that were less than desirable, right below her occasional stupidity and lack of fighting skills. Unfortunately, he found himself under the realization that this was one of them; she, for the life of her, could not cook.

He stared at the back of his wife with a dull expression on his face, having frozen in the middle of the room at the sight of her. She was mumbling under her breath as she continuously shifted different ingredients from side to side, looking for something in particular. She'd cooked often enough since he was usually out doing things that pertained to his ninja duty, but that wasn't to say she'd ever been very good at it, or that she didn't weasel her way out of it whenever she could. It wasn't too hard for her to make an excuse, considering the people of Koga often brought her gifts that included food every so often, seeing as she was still beloved by many.

Judging by the fact that had happened today as well – if the covered basket off to the side hinted correctly, anyways – he had to take a minute to absorb how odd this scene was.

"What are you doing?" He reached up and pulled the mask from his mouth, letting it fall loosely around his neck. The ninja princess turned at the sound of his voice, bits of her face turned white by stray clouds of flour that had apparently gone flying up at some point another. He supposed it was a miracle the whole house wasn't in a wreck, but he bit his tongue on that comment. For now.

"Cooking!" she chimed, as if she weren't aware he'd already deduced that much. Before he could press her further, she went on, no doubt fearing he would take physical action if she didn't. "Just something I do around this time of year. It's a special recipe for sweets."

"Sweets?" One of his brows raised at the inquiry as he watched her get back to work, throwing ingredients around and mixing them as if her life depended on it. Albeit still worried about how they would even turn out, he found himself more curious as to what was so special. It wasn't either of their birthdays, nor was it their anniversary as far as he could remember – and despite his outwardly uncaring acts, would definitely never forget – so he resigned himself to believing she'd made up some random holiday to celebrate in that head of hers.

It wouldn't be unlike her, honestly.

"Hm. Just be careful not to burn yourself with fire in the process." She shot him a defiant look, but the smirk on his lips let her know he was just kidding, so she relaxed a bit and returned to her meddling. Shaking his head, he wandered into a separate room for the time being, unsurprised by how tidy it was. With him gone most of the day, he would assume she had a lot of time to straighten things out to amuse herself. This was one of the first days he'd gotten home early in quite a while.

Grabbing the herbal drawing book she kept lying around, he opened it and looked through her progress; she'd taken to drawing herbs and filling out what it was they did when applied to wounds or used as medicine. More than a couple times, she'd enlisted Rennoshin's help, seeing as he was there quite often for obvious business purposes. When he thought about it, really, the others were probably around her more than he, himself, was. He hadn't quite worked out if that was his own fault or if everyone else was just being lazy with their jobs. Either way, it did bother him.

He frowned at the thought as he thumbed through the pages, but the little, messy scribbles of what he assumed were supposed to be plants made him smile again.

The dope couldn't even draw a leaf right... it figured.

The sound of something falling in the kitchen snapped him out of his thoughts and he quickly stood up, placing the notebook back where it had been moments before. He hurried out of the room and made his way back to where his wife was. He stopped to take in the scene around him, not exactly stunned to see it, per-say. She stood rigidly in front of a giant mess on the floor, the contents of what she'd been mixing sprawled out, leaving him to assume she'd dropped it or it had fallen in some way.

"Can't you-" He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic retort, but his words got stuck in his throat once he really looked at her expression. She stared down at the mess with teary eyes, her hands trembling by her sides. Slowly, he pressed his lips together and walked towards her, a worried look on his face. "It's no big deal. You can just start over..."

"There's no point," she murmured, shaking her head. She took a step back, her hair falling into her face so that he couldn't see her. Frowning, he stepped up and lifted his hand, melding his palm against her shoulder. She faltered at his touch and lifted her gaze to look up at him with watery, solemn eyes.

"..." He sighed quietly and brushed a few strands of hair from her face, not exactly sure what to do in these situations. She was a cry-baby, that had become apparent quite early on in their journey together, but whenever something beyond a small bout of sadness or fear bothered her, there was always a look of sincerity in her eyes that let him know when it was serious. It was something he had learned to read about her during their time together. "What's bothering you?"

She didn't answer, but she looked as if she were debating it. Finally, she just shook her head again, shrugging his hand off of her shoulder.

"Since when are you- hey!" Saizo's eyes widened as the girl turned and ran out the door, closing it behind her. He quickly followed after her, but when he got outside, she had already disappeared into the market area a little distance from their house. "Is she an idiot?" His eyebrow twitched as he internally debated about whether to follow her or not, but he calmed himself down slowly.

He knew where she'd go to. Turning back into the house, he stared down at the mess and narrowed his eyes. Why was it so important? She'd screwed up tons of times when it came to cooking, and she'd never been so pessimistic about it.

His eyes narrowed softly…

She always thought of him; whether or not she'd bother him if she approached him while he was busy, worrying if he was still as in love with her as he had been when they traveled together the year before, wondering if there was anything she could do to help him. She always voiced her feelings or demanded to aid him in the end, as she was absolutely terrible at holding things in, whereas he would only express himself when she had done so first.

He leaned down to clean the mess up and sighed, trying to piece together what ingredients he had for sure seen her mixing into it. He supposed he could make an exception, this time.

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As suspected, he only had to walk a couple minutes into the forest to find the girl sitting there against a tree, presumably having been brooding for the past few hours. It was her that always got onto him for frowning so often, too. He walked up to her with an annoyed expression once realizing she was asleep against the trunk, her head lulled onto one side, as if she were about to fall over onto the forest floor. He studied her for a moment, then huffed and raised his hand up before thumping it onto her head none-too-gently.

She started immediately, a surprised squeak escaping her throat. That was immediately followed by her hand lifting up to rub the now sore spot on her head. At first, she seemed as if she were expecting one of the enemy ninja to be above her, memories of the past year still having not worn off. However, her gaze seemed relieved when she saw him, though he noted she didn't seem any less pouty about having been hit.

"You could have woken me up gently!" Her voice came out in a whine as she straightened her posture, her gaze trailing him as he knelt down in front of her.

"It's your own fault for being stupid! What girl runs off by herself during the evening? If you're going to whine, at least go to a different room in the house; not out in the middle of the forest!" His eyes narrowed sternly and he figured she bit her tongue on whatever comment she'd cooked up. He knew she was aware he had a good point, especially being who she was. She still had enemies around, after all.

Of course, he hadn't ran after her right away, either, so he figured some deeper part of him figured she could manage to take care of herself at times, even if it worried him. Had it not been for the duty he'd felt fall upon his shoulders, he would have been out of that house in a heartbeat. "You're an idiot."

He huffed as her expression twisted into that of a child's pout, but he didn't feel the need to comment further on that. As clear as his annoyance was at her, when he noticed her expression slowly falling back into the saddened one from before, he, too, began to feel his own expression soften. He reached up and cupped her cheeks with both his hands, forcing her head up to look at him.

"Those sweets were really important to you," he murmured, caressing his thumbs against her cheeks gently. "Why is that?"

Her gaze faltered again, and he noticed she tried to drop it to the ground once more, but forgot he was forcing her to look at him. She was trapped this time, he wanted her to know that. Cold at times he may be, but that didn't warrant any desire to see her walking around sad. He liked it better when she smiled, even if it made her have a stupid look on her face.

"Those sweets... It was a recipe that got passed down in my family for a long time. I don't know why or for what reason, really, but it was something that was left of my lineage. And... today is..." She trailed off, not wanting to say it. He remained silent as he tried to put two and two together, and when he did, his eyes widened slightly.

"This is the date your parents passed away..." She nodded at his remark, leaning her face into his right hand gently. His annoyance melted away slowly; this feeling she had, was one he understood. He moved his hands around to her back and pushed her closer, enveloping her in his arms. Only seconds passed before he felt the embrace being returned to him. "Moron... stop dealing with these things by yourself. We're married now... this is what I'm here for." A stubborn blush crept onto his cheeks. She tried to push away to see his face, but he tightened his grip on her to prevent that and pressed his lips against her neck, closing his eyes.

"Saizo..." He felt her hands clutched onto the fabric on his back. She felt so fragile pressed against him, it was a wonder to him how she was so unbelievably strong underneath it all. "Thank you."

He smiled, pulling back enough to look at her. He leaned down and pecked her lips quickly, his eyes narrowed as he watched her cheeks turn beat red. He chuckled, despite being in no position to do so. "I never get tired of seeing you blush." She squirmed at his words, no doubt embarrassed. He kissed her again, this time more fervently. She responded, still as clumsy as ever despite having been together for so long already. When he reluctantly pulled away, he maneuvered himself so that he was sitting behind her.

Circling his arms around her waist, he pulled her back to have her leaning against his chest. She tilted her head up to look up at him, blinking when she noticed his serious expression had returned. "Do you miss them?"

She paused, not expecting that question, but nodded slowly after a while. "They were my parents. Even if I don't really remember them much at all, I still miss them. ...You understand what I mean, right?"

He nodded, resting his lips lazily against her forehead. He rarely admitted it to those who were not close to him, but he thought of his mother often. "Oh." He unwrapped one hand from her and leaned up, slipping a small cloth from his belt. It was tied in the corner to hold something in. He passed it to her and locked his arms back around her, watching from over her shoulder as she examined it.

"Is this...?" She untied it carefully, her eyes widening once she saw the freshly-made assortments of sweets in her lap; granted, there weren't many due to lack of ingredients, but they were there. They weren't perfect, either. Each individual sweet seemed a little too hard, slightly burnt and in an odd assortment of shapes. He came to the realization that, while the princess wasn't necessarily a good cook, she was much better at it than he was. He glowered down at them once he heard her begin to stifle a fit of laughter.

"If you don't want them, just throw them away," he grumbled.

"N-no, it's nothing like that! Thank you for doing this... I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, well. I just made what little I could recall off the top of my head, so they probably taste funny. And I didn't know any secret recipe or anything, so they aren't special in any way." He turned his head to the side to hide the embarrassment on his stubborn face when she scooted around to look at him. She reached up to tap the tip of his reddened ear gently.

"That's not true! They're special in their own way. Because Saizo made them. I think my parents would be happy that you're nice enough to make the gesture anyways." She leaned against him from the side this time, resting the side of her head against his chest. "You're really kind."

"..." He brought one hand up to stroke her hair, keeping one around her waist. "And you're an idiot," he murmured, leaning down so that his forehead rested on the top of her head. He squeezed her body even closer to him. "But I fell for that idiot. Don't run away from me anymore, okay? For _any_ reason."

"Yes!" He heard her giggle, even though it was muffled by their close proximity. He didn't say anything else, and neither did she. The silence suddenly felt comforting, allowing her thoughts to wander wherever they pleased; perhaps to her parents, or her grandfather. His, however - his thoughts remained where he begrudgingly felt them straying to more and more often, even after marriage... to her.

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**SAIZO CHAPTER: DONE.  
****I love Saizo... but I'm not very confident on if I captured his personality well or not.  
****kaldhflakdhg  
****I'M SORRY IF I BUTCHERED HIM IN ANY WAY I DIDN'T MEAN TO. B:  
****I tried.**

**Anyways, this scenario was something my friend suggested because apparently she pictures the MC as a terrible cook. Which I agreed with. Yup. BI**

**That is all! Reviews are appreciated~**

**-Matron of Madness**

**P.S. Also, for anyone alerted to this; sorry if you get multiple notifications or anything about this chapter. I had to take it down after putting it up because I noticed some huge mistakes, but when I tried to put it back up, it wouldn't do it. _ Thus, I've had to try multiple times to post this chapter up... guuuuh.**


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